grammarwoman: Captain America in his Winter Soldier gear (Captain America Winter Soldier)
It's been just over a week since I've watched "Captain America: Civil War", and I still haven't decided if I liked it or not. I'm planning on taking the Emperor to see it soon (ADHD/ASD 11 year olds who have an opinion about EVERYTHING and can't share it at a whisper volume are not the ideal companions for the first viewing or opening weekend of a movie) so I can work through my ambivalence. First, though, I wanted to get my thoughts down so I can visit the multitude of tabs I have open with other people's reactions.

I went into this movie with the fervent hope that it wouldn't suck. When compared to Age of Ultron, it cleared that low bar easily. However, any movie held up next to CA: Winter Soldier is going to suffer, and this had its fair share of flaws. My issue is, I'm well aware that I am very emotionally invested in the characters and world-building of the MCU, which means I can't tell if my reaction is that of disappointed fangirl, or disappointed fan of stories and movies in general.

The good, the bad, and the WTF – Spoilers Ahoy! )

So after 1800+ words (!), I still can't put my finger on where I fall on the scale from love to loathe. I feel like that there are the bones and muscles of a good movie here (Steve! Bucky!) but someone over-accessorized it (TONY) and buried it under layers of unnecessary character time (Ross, Spider-Man). I don't normally see a movie a second time in the theater that I don’t absolutely love, but I feel like I owe it to myself to see it again, knowing what I know and not letting the good parts be smothered by my irritation at the rest.

What did you all think?
grammarwoman: (Default)
I ducked out today to see a daytime matinee of "Guardians of the Galaxy" at long last. I liked and enjoyed it, but I definitely wasn't blown away by it like I was with "Captain America: The Winter Soldier".

Don't get me wrong; it was entertaining, and considering that I went in only expecting it to be fun, it met that criteria. I guess I just don't have much to say about it that hasn't already been said by everyone else. Well, maybe a couple of shallow comments, like how gorgeous Karen Gillan is even when bald, blue, and cyborged, or though I appreciate that Marvel used as many women as they did (Glenn Close as a system leader, for one), they could have used even more, like in the Ravagers crew. The voice acting was skillfully done; I hardly recognized Bradley Cooper's voice, and Vin Diesel did an amazing job with distinguishing Groot's one line in a variety of ways. The CGI was enjoyable as well - I never expected to be that moved by a sentient tree. I also would have been more impressed had the script not given off such a bro-ish vibe; there was really no reason to set up Quill's character as a thoughtless womanizer and then just riff on it for a joke. We could have gotten just as much mileage out of him being awkward around women, without it being as insulting. I think they were trying to have their Kirk and Peter, too.

In conclusion: I'm glad I saw it, and even gladder now that I can dive into all the fic and analysis.
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